Monday, September 3, 2012

ACACIA HOTEL: BUFFET AT ACACI.. AND ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY #9!

To Rina and I, travelling to the South is pretty much an out of town trip to us. Which is why when I visited Alabang a few months back, I was left in awe when I saw someone dropped a Five Star Hotel in the Filinvest area.

Acacia Hotel sprouted out of nowhere to become one of the premiere hotels in the South. For me, it would make a nice place for a "Staycation", if in case Rina and I just want some peace and quiet. I was pleased to find that Acacia Hotel also has a restaurant in it, called Acaci. With my weakness for hotel buffets taking over my senses, my trip to take Acaci's buffet a little spin was inevitable. You might want to keep reading, because by the end of this post, I'm hoping I said enough to make you want to join The Pickiest Eater in The World's Giveaway #9!!

Acaci is the cornerstone of Acacia Hotel's culinary campaign of excellence. The cafe, located at the hotel's mezzanine area, is luxurious dining area, with high ceilings and beautiful picture windows that span across virtually the entire side of the building. The windows allows for the sunlight to beam into the restaurant, giving it a fresh, and vibrant ambiance.

THE FOOD

For starters, people who enjoy their greens before a meal will get a kick out of Acaci's salad bar. Among the choices were Beef Salad, Kimchi, and Potato salad. Rina bet me P50 bucks that I wouldn't eat anything from the salad bar. I promptly came back to the table with some Pesto Penne salad, and a roasted corn salad with cut up chunks of ham.

Easiest P50 bucks EVER.

Acaci also boasts of a cold bar with fresh seafood and other appetizers. I'm not too fond of shrimp and mussels, but Rina got a kick out of it.

For carnivores like me, cold cuts and bread are a good way to start the meal. I was particularly found of the salami!

A Taco Station isn't exactly something you'd expect to find at a Five Star hotel buffet. But in my opinion, its what makes Acaci unique. I actually just crumbled some taco shell, mixed in some meat with the cheese and cheese sauce and made me a taco salad. Yet ANOTHER P50 bucks in my pocket. Cha-Ching!

Rina was delighted to find a Pasta Station. The station offered different type of pastas, and a nice selection of sauces to choose from. As expected, Rina went straight for the Creamy Carbonara.

Yet another interesting Station set up by Acaci was the Sinigang Station. You can basically customize your own Sinigang to your liking.. Shrimp, pork, etc..

There are a few things that I believe a good buffet MUST have, and A tempura station is one of them. Apart from the required shrimp, they also had mixed vegetables as well. I was also pleased with the frequency that they filled the platters. (The last time I went to Yakimix, I was extremely disappointed with how long it took between refills.)

ENTREES Among the dishes that were served, the ones that stood out for me were...

The strips of beef in the Red Wine Braised Beef Stew were reasonably tender, and the medley of the vegetables, which included carrots and zucchini, gave it a hint of sweetness that melded well with the acid brought on by the tomato based sauce.

The Steamed Cream Dory was quite delicious. The Dory itself was amazingly soft, and the herbed cream sauce coated it beautifully, and enraptured it with flavor.

Acaci had a deliciously different take on one of my oriental cuisine favorites, Lemon Chicken. Instead of chicken fillet cutlets bathed in a heavy lemon sauce, this was more like pan fried chicken, drizzled in a lightly sweet, citric sauce.

Another thing I look for in a hotel buffet, is a good carving station, and much to my elation, Acaci had two types of dishes up for slicing for your eating pleasure.

The first was Lechon Kawali. One would be surprised to hear that despite being a huge fan of pork, I'm not all that crazy about Lechon Kawali. I don't like how the meat is a bit too dry, and the fat is too oily.

Acaci's Lechon Kawali though, was different. Since it was still in a slab and sliced for the guest upon request, it wasn't dry at all. The meat was in fact, quite moist, despite not being overloaded with fat, while the skin crackled with every amazing bite.

An amazing aroma emanated from the giant slab of Acaci's Roast Beef. It was a beautifully juicy cut of beef whose innate flavors really didn't have the need for gravy. Word of advice though.. Don't get the pre-cut slices. Ask for a freshly sliced one, because when left out for too long, the pre-sliced ones tend to dry up quickly.

DESSERT

Cream Puff

Opera Cake

For Dessert, apart from the wide selection of pastries to choose from, Acaci has a crepe station that offers several types of fillings and toppings, ranging from fruits to chocolates.

And another restaurant staple is of course, the Chocolate fountain station, that offers several fruits and sweets, all primed for taking a decadent dip into the running choco goodness.

But by far, my favorite dessert was the bread pudding!

I hadn't been to this many stations since Holy Week! But Rina and I did have a wonderful time. The Acaci Buffet is something that I wish everyone could experience..

At P995 Net, It's one of the more affordable Hotel buffets in the metro.. but I'm giving away FREE gift certificates for a buffet Lunch or dinner for two at ACACI... for TWO Lucky readers!!

if i win, i'd love to bring along my boyfriend because he enjoys eating in buffets as much as i do. i actually think it's the key for him to gain weight! hahaha we'd love the pasta and crepe stations most and all those meat! :)athenadepaz@gmail.com

I would like to bring a friend from medical school. If I win, this will be a great way for us to unwind and forget about all the medschool stuff even just for a while. Plus we get to be energized after this buffet!!! :)

i would bring my mom at acaci, i'd never had a chance to bring her to some fancy buffet and it would be a nice treat before i leave the country for work. i hope i win!haha!:) andreadelos_santos@yahoo.com

If I win i'll bring my bf with me. We love eating at buffets specially on our monthsary. We've tried most of the buffets in the metro already and we would love to try Acaci's buffet as well. It'll be a special party of our celebration if it's a gift from you to dine at Acaci. :) blair.waldorf78@yahoo.com

If I win, I'll bring my wife with me. We've tried their buffet before, but that was a few months ago, and the lechon kawali and sinigang stations weren't there yet. But we'd love to come back for more of the awesome bread pudding! jek4880@gmail.com

I'll take my bestfriend-slash-lover to try Acacia's Hotel Buffet with me. We've always shared this love for food and have been to buffets here and there, but this one, I know we've gotta try! Given their work schedule, we don't go to buffets anymore. So... bring back the buffet spark, please? ;)

I'll take my bestfriend-slash-lover to try Acacia's Hotel Buffet with me. We've always shared this love for food and have been to buffets here and there, but this one, I know we've gotta try! Given their work schedule, we don't go to buffets anymore. So... bring back the buffet spark, please? ;)

If I win, ofcourse I will bring my mom and dad again here. We celebrated Mom's birthday here last April and this time, I want to celebrate my birthday here!!! I so love Acaci!! And it is 20mins drive from our place! Very convenient!! Woot! :)

If I win, I'd bring my blockmate who also happens to be my roommate and my good friend. This would be the perfect reward for all our toil in law school. Perfect cure for the post-midterms blues. Living by our principle of delayed gratification would then definitely pay off! Plus, we're such happy eaters that this BIG of a treat would be heaven to our taste buds!!!

If I would win, I will give the tickets to my parents. This will be a symbolic gift of their love and passion for molding me as the person who I am right now. This will be one of my thank you gifts for them. However, my tokens of gratitude will not end here, rather it will last forever.

I will take my sister Anne.. She's forever in a diet and a self proclaimed health buff. But I know her so well that when she faces buffets, specially hotel buffets, she eats like no tomorrow and forgets her food values. LOL

I would love to take my boyfriend with me! He is the best man I have ever met! He's not a fan of fancy restaurants so I want him to experience something like this so that he can take me ALL THE TIME to a sosyal resto! (*evil laugh*) Just kidding!! :D I just want him to be with me for this awesome experience! And we have never been to a buffet type of restaurant so that would be awesome!!!

i would like to bring my hon SHO tsuchiya ever since i gave birth to our son shin we didn`t able to go out together. i wonder whats the feeling or experience eating in the ACACIA HOTEL MANILA. in november 26, 2012 our 3rd yr anniversary!.. thanks for this giveaway! more power & god bless.

If I win, I would like to bring a special friend with me. It's my little way of saying thank you for helping get through a big heartbreak a few months ago. He's always listened and because he loves eating at buffets too :)

If I win, I'd definitely take my boyfriend with me to Acaci because we love eating and we adore buffets... plus, all our "foodventures" are the very reasons why I put up a food blog in the first place. :)

I'll tag along my food buddies, my husband and son! We love to eat and we never miss any day of the week without going out to dinner. We especially like going to restaurants we haven't tried. We haven't tried Acaci yet so it will be very exciting for all of us. We love food!!! :)

I'd definitely bring my siblings here. We love to eat and we love eating together most of all. In fact, most of our trips here and abroad are food-centered most of all. We love good food and would go to great lengths to try new things, even the weird ones. The Acaci experience would be a great addition to the already overflowing record of good eats that we keep.

If I win, I would bring my hubby and my kids with me. It would be a nice time to bond and have a quality time together talking and telling stories of what had happened to each one of us for the whole day while having a dinner. :) e-mail add: ngdtal@yahoo.com

We've been together for almost 3 years now, but until today, he has not added up any pounds -- just me, ALWAYS. I don't mind coz I really love food. But I am not giving up... I want him to enjoy food as much as I do, and hopefully he could look "healthier" by adding on a little lbs. So, if I do win, I'd really, really like to bring my boyfriend with me and we'll try to taste everything that Acaci has to offer.

I'd bring my foodtrip buddy and partner in crime, my boyfriend. We're crazy about food and love buffets! Haven't gotten the chance to go down south and this would just be perfect, based on your review. :) lesliegabe@gmail.com

I'll bring my boyfriend with me. :D Despite his skinny stature, he looooooooves to eat as much as I do and I believe that this free hotel buffet will be a delightful experience for us. Hey, adorbs kaya kumain ng libre! =))

If I win, I'd bring my Father because he always cook in our house, he's a great chef to us, in return, I want to bring him there to feel relax and full at the same time, and he deserves to eat delicious foods! :)

If I win, I'd let my father enjoy the buffet. Though he is not much of a foodie, I believe the busy bee and great provider that is him needs something like this. :)If possible, I'd like my father and my mother to enjoy this. :)

If I win, I would you love to take my mom with me. It's been months since we last went out for a mom-and-daughter bonding because she's too busy at work (she goes out of the country every now and then) and I, at school and work as well. If I win, taking her out and having a great meal at Acacia would be the best bonding experience ever. :)

If i win i will definitely bring my husband along! We both love trying out food from different restaurants and places, this ill b a very nice surprise for him for our second wedding anniversary, hope i win!

If I win, I'll bring along my mother and favorite aunt with me--I won't mind paying extra (for my self)... I just want the 3 of us to have a good time and enjoy the food that you chronicled in this blog... These two great women are my life! -- pinakadalisay@gmail.com

I want to treat my girlfriend at Acaci on my birthday at the same time our 55Th monthsary celebration. I’m sure she will love it because she loves food (specially the desserts). I really want to bring her there for her to unwind, because these days she is tired doing school stuffs..i hope to win this contest for her :D

Me and my boyfriend have been dating for almost 4years. I want to surprise him on his birthday. He is currently studying to become a chef someday. Since he loves food and he loves cooking and tasting different variety of dishes, I was thinking of taking him to a VERY NICE RESTAURANT. So I hope and pray to win this contest for him :D

I would bring my husband with me, this will be our post wedding anniversary celebration last August 30, due to tight budget we just stay at home on that day but still happy bonding with our kids, and if I win ln this contest, this will be our first time to experience such luxury,I'm really hoping to win :)

If i win, ill take the bf with me (his birthday is on oct 30)since we havent been on a buffet dining yet. we will ogle all the delicious dishes (especially the meat station), but ill definitely be staying on the pasta section.. i cannot stress enough how i LOOOOOVE pasta! *sigh* i hope i win.. :)

if i win i will take my mom with me. i love my mom so much and she always deserve to be treated special. though she's not here coz she's in our province right now, i always wish to be bond with her, to hang out with her coz i miss her so much.